Non-invasive imaging technologies allow images of the internal structures of a patient or object to be obtained without performing an invasive procedure on the patient or object. In particular, technologies such as computed tomography (CT) use various physical principles, such as the differential transmission of X-rays through the target volume, to acquire image data and to construct tomographic images (e.g., three-dimensional representations of the interior of the human body or of other imaged structures). However, various physical limitations or constraints on acquisition may result in artifacts or other imperfections in the reconstructed image.
For example, third-generation cone-beam CT may suffer from cone-beam artifacts, particularly in the case of axial (circular) scan trajectories. These artifacts may arise from a variety of causes, such as truncation of data in the Z-direction (i.e., in the direction corresponding to the axis about which the X-ray source rotates about the patient), mishandled data, and/or missing frequencies. It is desirable to reduce or eliminate artifacts attributable to such causes in a cone-beam CT system, such as may be used to acquire axial or other data.